Dataset Information

Insurance coverage for weight loss: overweight adults' views.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Given the prevalence of obesity and associated chronic conditions among U.S. adults, wellness benefits are an increasingly popular approach to promoting weight loss.

Purpose

The goal of the study was to assess overweight and obese adults' beliefs about the helpfulness of insurance coverage of weight loss-related benefits, their willingness to pay for such benefits, and whether these opinions differ by individuals' weight or health insurance type.

Methods

A national survey was fielded in 2012 among non-pregnant, overweight, and obese adults who had seen a primary care provider in the past year (n=600). Descriptive statistics summarized beliefs about which weight loss-related benefits would be helpful, willingness to pay for such benefits, and agreement about whether health insurers should be able to charge more to obese individuals. Multivariable logistic regression was employed to determine whether beliefs differed by weight category or health insurance type. Analyses were conducted in July 2012.

Results

The majority (83%) of respondents cited a specific benefit as helpful. Those with private health insurance had a higher probability (89%, 95% CI=86%, 93%) of endorsing any benefit as helpful relative to those with other types of health insurance. Being obese relative to overweight was associated with greater support (57% vs 39%, p<0.05) for preventing health insurers from charging higher premiums to obese individuals.

Conclusions

In this sample of overweight adults, a large proportion endorsed the value of weight loss-related benefits offered by health plans. However, only about one third were willing to pay extra for them, and half disagreed with the notion that health plans should charge more to obese individuals. Given evidence of their effectiveness, wellness benefits should be offered to all individuals.

SUBMITTER: Jarlenski MP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3671931 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Insurance coverage for weight loss: overweight adults' views.

Jarlenski Marian P MP Gudzune Kimberly A KA Bennett Wendy L WL Cooper Lisa A LA Bleich Sara N SN

American journal of preventive medicine 20130501 5

<h4>Background</h4>Given the prevalence of obesity and associated chronic conditions among U.S. adults, wellness benefits are an increasingly popular approach to promoting weight loss.<h4>Purpose</h4>The goal of the study was to assess overweight and obese adults' beliefs about the helpfulness of insurance coverage of weight loss-related benefits, their willingness to pay for such benefits, and whether these opinions differ by individuals' weight or health insurance type.<h4>Methods</h4>A nation ...[more]

PMID: 23597807

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Project description:OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between eating behavior traits and weight loss according to sleep quality and duration in adults enrolled in common weight-loss interventions. METHODS: Participants included overweight and obese men and women (n=150) (mean±s.d. age, 38.8±8.6 years; mean±s.d. body mass index (BMI), 33.3±3.5 kg m(-2)) who were subjected to a dietary intervention over a period of 12-16 weeks. Anthropometric measurements, eating behavior traits (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire), sleep quality (total Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score) and sleep duration (hours per night, self-reported from the PSQI) were assessed at both baseline and post intervention. Linear regression analysis was used to quantify the relationships between eating behavior traits and changes in anthropometric markers for all subjects and by sleep categories (short sleep: <7 h per night vs recommended sleep: ⩾7 h per night; poor sleep quality: ⩾5 PSQI score vs good sleep quality: <5 PSQI score). We adjusted for age, sex and baseline BMI in analyses. RESULTS: Baseline eating behavior traits were modest predictors of weight-loss success, but they were all significantly associated with their changes over the weight-loss intervention (P<0.01). The diet intervention induced significant changes in eating behavior traits and even more for those having a non-favorable eating behavior profile at baseline. We observed that changes in flexible control and strategic dieting behavior were constantly negatively associated with changes in body weight and fat mass (P<0.05) for recommended duration sleepers. The change in situational susceptibility to disinhibition was positively associated with the change in fat mass and body weight for those having healthy sleeping habits (P<0.05). For poor quality sleepers, the change in avoidance of fattening foods was negatively associated with changes in adiposity (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Eating behavior traits and sleep may act together to influence the outcome of weight-loss programs.

Dataset Information

Insurance coverage for weight loss: overweight adults' views.

Background

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Insurance coverage for weight loss: overweight adults' views.

Similar Datasets

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